Western Alamance is 4-0, making the Warriors the only undefeated football team in Alamance County.

“We’re going to have to push harder,” defensive end T.J. Harris said. “We can’t get complacent.”

The next game comes Friday night at Williams High School. The Warriors go back to Burlington Memorial Stadium for the second year in a row for the matchup with their neighbors, a byproduct of the latest round of realignment and therefore some tweaking of schedules.

“We’re 4-0 and they’re going to be after us,” Western Alamance receiver / defensive back Britton Smith said.

â–ª PRACTICE FOR A REASON: Western Alamance used a wrinkle for its offense on possessions early in each half in its trouncing of Eden Morehead.

Sophomore Trevion McCollum was the starter and he took most of the snaps. Senior Brock Deatherage handled a couple of series.

Coach Jeff Snuffer said McCollum had been nursing some injuries so his workload was lighter in practice last week. For the game, Snuffer said he decided the Warriors might as well go with the alignments and personnel that they used in some practice situations so those workouts didn’t go for naught.

At times, the offensive line made it convenient for the Warriors to pick up yards regardless of who was in the backfield.

“We created good running lanes for our backs,” Snuffer said.

â–ª A YEARÂ’S DIFFERENCE: Southern AlamanceÂ’s victory against East Chapel Hill last week marked its third victory of the season, matching its total from last year. While that makes for a nice novelty note, it doesnÂ’t resonate much with the Patriots.

“Not really,” said receiver Tylin McAdams when asked if he had given extra thought to having matched last season’s win total. “I’m just out here playing, we’re all playing hard.”

But there was one noteworthy takeaway from last week’s victory.

By scoring 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, Southern Alamance erased the six-point. Behind a defense that didn’t allow a first down in the final quarter and scored twice — on an interception return and a safety — the Patriots put up a resounding finishing touch.

“Last year we might not have done that,” senior quarterback Johnathan Lloyd said. “It’s a different mindset, these guys are a lot more mentally tough. We worked hard. I’m just proud of them and the way they fought back. Nobody dipped their head.”

â–ª LEARNING ALONG THE WAY:In the aftermath of his teamÂ’s victory, Southern Alamance coach Andrew Carrouth balanced his excitement for a comeback victory with disappointment as to why the Patriots trailed in the first place.

“We have to figure out a way to stop being in that situation,” Carrouth said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our kids for fighting through that and getting there, but … we shouldn’t have been in that position.

Page 2 of 3 - “I know I’m kind of splitting hairs here a little bit because you’ve got to win and that’s the most important thing, but man, we have a chance to be a good football team.”

Carrouth didn’t shy away from noting that part of the reason for his team’s inconsistent play in the first half was because his team was still living in the moment of the previous week’s victory against Eastern Alamance.

“I definitely think (an emotional hangover) is part of it,” Carrouth said. “Our guys kind of thought … that we’re on top of the world and I hope (Friday) night proves that we’re not.”

â–ª PUTTING IN SOME REPS: Because FridayÂ’s victory against McMichael was a blowout by the end of the first quarter, Eastern Alamance had a chance to get some younger guys and backups valuable game experience.

Junior running back Josh Lynch had 90 rushing yards and two scores and junior Brandon Bryner had 36 yards and a score on the ground. There was a heavy infusion of backups throughout the second half on both sides of the ball.

“I think that’s the key to your success down the line is trying to get as many kids in the game and get some kids some playing experience,” said Eastern Alamance coach John Kirby. “Next year those are going to be the kids that are playing.”

â–ª HITTING THE GROUND HARD: Kirby said his team likes to go 50-50 in passing and running the ball, but with the big early lead against McMichael he said there was no need to throw.

“We feel like our receiving corps is quick and they catch the ball really well. But they complement our running game because they block really well,” he said. “There’s no real need to throw it. We try to throw it as much as we run it, but (this game), when we kind of jumped out, there was no need to throw it.”

The Eagles finished with 408 rushing yards on 36 carries as opposed to 27 passing yards on one completion from Joey Lanier to Malik Wilson.

“I love our offense,” said Eagles cornerback Ryan Woods. “They put up more scores than any team I’ve ever been with. I love it.”

â–ª STRONG BOUNCE BACK: One way to rebound from a disappointing loss to a cross-county rival: Crush your next opponent by 68 points.

Kirby said he and his staff saw some weaknesses exposed in the previous week’s loss to Southern Alamance.

“I think (that) game exposed us in some areas that made us go back and realize maybe we weren’t as good as we thought we were,” he said. “It was good that they responded well and the key is to see how we respond next week.”

Page 3 of 3 - Woods said: “We were out to prove to people. We were getting a lot of doubt, and we were just out to be as good as we could be and I think that’s where we took a step forward.”

â–ª HOLDING PATTERN: Williams played its second straight game without the services of standout running back / linebacker Jaylin Jefferies last week. The Old Dominion commit was injured in the first quarter of the second game of the season and has not played since.

Williams coach David Green said Jefferies is still in the process of collecting opinions from several doctors.

“If he’s able to come back, that’ll just be great,” Green said, before adding that more information should be available next week. “We don’t know if he’ll be able to (play), when that might be or if he comes back, how long he’ll be able to play.”

â–ª AWAITING WORD: Cummings High School senior Will Richardson is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his left knee, and now the Virginia commit is waiting for word from his future medical staff.

Cummings coach Steve Johnson said Virginia requested an MRI to be sent to its medical staff before any further action is taken.

“If their doctor can give that much needed advice or whatever they decide, I think that’s a good thing,” Johnson said.

â–ª REF TAKES A HIT: Curtis Wrenn, the referee at the start of the McMichael / Eastern Alamance game, sustained a broken collarbone as he collided with a player and fell to the turf.

Wrenn is a long-time official in the area.

Wrenn was run into by Eastern Alamance’s Malcolm Summers, who was making the first of his two punt returns for touchdowns in the first quarter. The collision occurred near the 10-yard line. Wrenn was checked out as he was on the turf, then walked off the field but didn’t return to call the rest of the game.